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+ <!entity cvs-rev "$Revision: 1.81 $">
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General Public License for more details.
<p>
A copy of the GNU General Public License is available as &file-GPL; in
-the Debian GNU/Linux distribution or on the World Wide Web at <url
+the &debian-formal; distribution or on the World Wide Web at <url
id="&url-gpl;" name="the GNU website">. You can also obtain it by
writing to the &fsf-addr;.
Linux People IRC network (e.g., <tt>irc.debian.org</tt>) can also be
helpful.
+ <p>
+When you know how you want to contribute to &debian-formal;, you
+should get in contact with existing Debian maintainers who are working
+on similar tasks. That way, you can learn from experienced developers.
+For example, if you are interested in packaging existing software for
+Debian you should try to get a sponsor. A sponsor will work together
+with you on your package and upload it to the Debian archive once he
+is happy with the packaging work you have done. You can find a sponsor
+by mailing the &email-debian-mentors; mailing list, describing your
+package and yourself and asking for a sponsor (see <ref id="sponsoring">
+for more information on sponsoring). On the other hand, if you are
+interested in porting Debian to alternative architectures or kernels
+you can subscribe to port specific mailing lists and ask there how to
+get started. Finally, if you are interested in documentation or
+Quality Assurance (QA) work you can join maintainers already working on
+these tasks and submit patches and improvements.
+
<sect id="registering">Registering as a Debian developer
<p>
-Before you decide to register with the Debian Project, you will need
-to read the <url id="&url-social-contract;" name="Debian Social
-Contract">. Registering as a developer means that you agree with and
-pledge to uphold the Debian Social Contract; it is very important that
-maintainers are in accord with the essential ideas behind Debian
-GNU/Linux. Reading the <url id="&url-gnu-manifesto;" name="GNU
+Before you decide to register with &debian-formal;, you will need to
+read all the information available at the <url id="&url-newmaint;"
+name="New Maintainer's Corner">. It describes exactly the
+preparations you have to do before you can register to become a Debian
+developer.
+
+For example, before you apply, you have to to read the <url
+id="&url-social-contract;" name="Debian Social Contract">.
+Registering as a developer means that you agree with and pledge to
+uphold the Debian Social Contract; it is very important that
+maintainers are in accord with the essential ideas behind
+&debian-formal;. Reading the <url id="&url-gnu-manifesto;" name="GNU
Manifesto"> would also be a good idea.
<p>
The process of registering as a developer is a process of verifying
-your identity and intentions. As the number of people working on
-Debian GNU/Linux has grown to over &number-of-maintainers; people and
-our systems are used in several very important places we have to be
-careful about being compromised. Therefore, we need to verify new
-maintainers before we can give them accounts on our servers and
-let them upload packages.
- <p>
-Registration requires that the following information be sent in
-appropriate steps described at <url id="&url-newmaint-checklist;"
- name="Checklist for applicants">
-after the initial contact to &email-new-maintainer:
+your identity and intentions, and checking your technical skills. As
+the number of people working on &debian-formal; has grown to over
+&number-of-maintainers; people and our systems are used in several
+very important places we have to be careful about being compromised.
+Therefore, we need to verify new maintainers before we can give them
+accounts on our servers and let them upload packages.
+ <p>
+Before you actually register you should have shown that you can do
+competent work and will be a good contributor. You can show this by
+submitting patches through the Bug Tracking System or having a package
+sponsored by an existing maintainer for a while. Also, we expect that
+contributors are interested in the whole project and not just in
+maintaining their own packages. If you can help other maintainers by
+providing further information on a bug or even a patch, then do so!
+ <p>
+Registration requires that you are familiar with Debian's philosophy
+and technical documentation. Furthermore, you need a GPG key which
+has been signed by an existing Debian maintainer. If your GPG key
+is not signed yet, you should try to meet a Debian maintainer in
+person to get your key signed. There's a <url id="&url-gpg-coord;"
+name="GPG Key Signing Coordination page"> which should help you find
+a maintainer close to you (If you cannot find a Debian maintainer
+close to you, there's an alternative way to pass the ID check. You
+can send in a photo ID signed with your GPG key. Having your GPG
+key signed is the preferred way, however. See the
+<url id="&url-newmaint-id;" name="identification page"> for more
+information about these two options.)
-<list>
- <item>
-Your name.
- <item>
-Your preferred login name on <tt>master</tt> (eight characters or
-less), as well as the email address at which you'd prefer to be
-subscribed to &email-debian-private; (typically this will be either
-your primary mail address or your new <tt>debian.org</tt> address).
- <item>
-A phone number where we can call you. Remember that the new
-maintainer team usually calls during evening hours to save on long
-distance tolls. Please do not give a work number, unless you are
-generally there in the evening.
- <item>
-A statement of intention, that is, what package(s) you intend to work
-on, which Debian port you will be assisting, or how you intend to
-contribute to Debian.
- <item>
-A statement that you have read and agree to uphold the <url
-id="&url-social-contract;" name="Debian Social Contract">.
- <item>
-Some mechanism by which we can verify your real-life identity. For
-example, any of the following mechanisms would suffice:
-<list>
- <item>
-An OpenPGP key signed by any well-known signature, such as:
-<list>
- <item>
-Any current Debian developer you have met <em>in real life</em>.
- <item>
-Any formal certification service (such as Verisign, etc.) that
-verifies your identity. A certification that verifies your email
-address, and not your identity, is not sufficient.
- </list>
- <item>
-Alternatively, you may identify yourself with a scanned (or physically
-mailed) copy of any formal documents certifying your identity (such as
-a birth certificate, national ID card, U.S. Driver's License, etc.).
-If emailed, please sign the mail with your OpenPGP key.
- </list>
- </list>
<p>
If you do not have an OpenPGP key yet, generate one. Every developer
needs a OpenPGP key in order to sign and verify package uploads. You
information on maintaining your public key.
<p>
Debian uses the <prgn>GNU Privacy Guard</prgn> (package
-<package>gnupg</package> version 1 or better as its baseline standard.
+<package>gnupg</package> version 1 or better) as its baseline standard.
You can use some other implementation of OpenPGP as well. Note that
OpenPGP is a open standard based on <url id="&url-rfc2440;" name="RFC
2440">.
ID; this prevents user ID tampering. <prgn>gpg</prgn> does this
automatically.
<p>
-Also remember that one of the names on your key must match the email
-address you list as the official maintainer for your packages. For
-instance, I set the maintainer of the
-<package>developers-reference</package> package to ``Adam Di Carlo
-<aph@debian.org>''; therefore, one of the user IDs on my key is
-that same value, ``Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org>''.
- <p>
If your public key isn't on public key servers such as &pgp-keyserv;,
please read the documentation available locally in &file-keyservs;.
That document contains instructions on how to put your key on the
citizens. This need not impede one's activities as a Debian package
maintainer however, as it may be perfectly legal to use cryptographic
products for authentication, rather than encryption purposes (as is
-the case in France). The Debian Project does not require the use of
+the case in France). &debian-formal; does not require the use of
cryptography <em>qua</em> cryptography in any manner. If you live in a
country where use of cryptography even for authentication is forbidden
then please contact us so we can make special arrangements.
<p>
-Once you have all your information ready, and your public key is
-available on public key servers, send a message to
-&email-new-maintainer; to register as an offical Debian developer so
-that you will be able to upload your packages. This message must
-contain your name and your valid e-mail address. All the information
-discussed above is required after your Application Manager is
-assigned. Application Manager is your agent in the registration
-process, and you can always ask him about the status of your
-application. You can check the <url id="&url-newmaint-db;"
-name="Application StatusBoard"> as well.
+To apply as a new maintainer, you need an existing Debian maintainer
+to verify your application (an <em>advocate</em>). After you have
+contributed to Debian for a while, and you want to apply to become a
+registered developer, an existing developer with whom you
+have worked over the past months has to express his belief that you
+can contribute to Debian successfully.
+ <p>
+When you have found an advocate, have your GPG key signed and have
+already contributed to Debian for a while, you're ready to apply.
+You can simply register on our <url id="&url-newmaint-apply;"
+name="application page">. After you have signed up, your advocate
+has to confirm your application. When your advocate has completed
+this step you will be assigned an Application Manager who will
+go with you through the necessary steps of the New Maintainer process.
+You can always check your status on the <url id="&url-newmaint-db;"
+name="applications status board">.
<p>
For more details, please consult <url id="&url-newmaint;" name="New
-Maintainer's Corner"> at the Debian web site.
- <p>
-Once this information is received and processed, you should be
-contacted with information about your new Debian maintainer account.
-If you don't hear anything within a month, please send a followup
-message asking if your original application was received. Do
-<em>not</em> re-send your original application, that will just confuse
-the New Maintainer Group. Please be patient, especially near release
-points; mistakes do occasionally happen, and people do sometimes run
-out of volunteer time.
+Maintainer's Corner"> at the Debian web site. Make sure that you
+are familiar with the necessary steps of the New Maintainer process
+before actually applying. If you are well prepared, you can save
+a lot of timer later on.
<sect id="mentors">Debian Mentors
<p>
If you notice that a package is lacking maintenance, you should
make sure the maintainer is active and will continue to work on
-their packages. Try contacting them yourself.
+his packages. Try contacting him yourself.
<p>
If you do not get a reply after a few weeks you should collect all
-useful information about this maintainer. Start by logging in to
-the <url id="http://db.debian.org" name="Debian Developer's Database">
+useful information about this maintainer. Start by logging into
+the <url id="&url-debian-db;" name="Debian Developer's Database">
and doing a full search to check whether the maintainer is on vacation
-and when they were last seen. Collect any important package names
-they maintain and any Release Critical bugs filled against them.
+and when he was last seen. Collect any important package names
+he maintains and any Release Critical bugs filled against them.
<p>
Send all this information to &email-debian-qa;, in order to let the
QA people do whatever is needed.
&email-debian-policy;, &email-debian-user;, &email-debian-private;,
&email-debian-announce;, and &email-debian-devel-announce;. All
developers are expected to be subscribed to at least
-&email-debian-private; and &email-debian-devel-announce;. There are
-other mailing lists are available for a variety of special topics; see
+&email-debian-devel-announce;. There are
+other mailing lists available for a variety of special topics; see
<url id="&url-debian-lists-subscribe;"> for a list. Cross-posting
(sending the same message to multiple lists) is discouraged.
<p>
<sect>Overview
<p>
-The Debian GNU/Linux distribution consists of a lot of Debian packages
+The &debian-formal; distribution consists of a lot of Debian packages
(<tt>.deb</tt>'s, currently around &number-of-pkgs;) and a few
additional files (documentation, installation disk images, etc.).
<p>
<sect>Sections
<p>
The <em>main</em> section of the Debian archive is what makes up the
-<strong>official Debian GNU/Linux distribution</strong>.
-The <em>main</em> section is official because it fully complies with
-all our guidelines. The other two sections do not, to different degrees;
-as such, they are <strong>not</strong> officially part of Debian GNU/Linux.
+<strong>official &debian-formal; distribution</strong>. The
+<em>main</em> section is official because it fully complies with all
+our guidelines. The other two sections do not, to different degrees;
+as such, they are <strong>not</strong> officially part of
+&debian-formal;.
<p>
Every package in the main section must fully comply with the <url
id="&url-dfsg;" name="Debian Free Software Guidelines"> (DFSG) and
<em>alpha</em>, <em>powerpc</em>, <em>sparc</em>, <em>hurd-i386</em>,
and <em>arm</em>, as of this writing.
<p>
-Debian GNU/Linux 1.3 is only available as <em>i386</em>. Debian 2.0
+&debian-formal; 1.3 is only available as <em>i386</em>. Debian 2.0
shipped for <em>i386</em> and <em>m68k</em> architectures. Debian 2.1
ships for the <em>i386</em>, <em>m68k</em>, <em>alpha</em>, and
<em>sparc</em> architectures. Debian 2.2 adds support for the
directory of the archive (because of backwards compatibility).
- <sect1>Stable, testing, unstable, and sometimes frozen
+ <sect1 id="sec-dists">Stable, testing, and unstable
<p>
-There is always a distribution called <em>stable</em> (residing in
+There are always distributions called <em>stable</em> (residing in
<tt>dists/stable</tt>), one called <em>testing</em> (residing in
<tt>dists/testing</tt>), and one called <em>unstable</em> (residing in
<tt>dists/unstable</tt>). This reflects the development process of the
<p>
Packages get copied from <em>unstable</em> to <em>testing</em> if they
satisfy certain criteria. To get into <em>testing</em> distribution, a
-package needs to be in the archive for two weeks and not have any release
-critical bugs. After that period, it will propagate into <em>testing</em>
-as soon as anything it depends on is also added. This process is automatic.
+package needs to be in the archive for two weeks and not have any
+release critical bugs. After that period, it will propagate into
+<em>testing</em> as soon as anything it depends on is also added. This
+process is automatic. You can see some notes on this system as well
+as <tt>update_excuses</tt> (describing which packages are valid
+candidates, which are not, and why not) at <url
+id="&url-testing-maint;">.
<p>
After a period of development, once the release manager deems fit, the
-<em>testing</em> distribution is renamed to <em>frozen</em>. Once
-that has been done, no changes are allowed to that distribution except
-bug fixes; that's why it's called ``frozen.'' After another month or
-a little longer, depending on the progress, the <em>frozen</em> distribution
+<em>testing</em> distribution is frozen, meaning that the policies
+which control how packages move from <em>unstable</em> to testing are
+tightened. Packages which are too buggy are removed. No changes are
+allowed into <em>testing</em> except for bug fixes. After some time
+has elapsed, depending on progress, the <em>testing</em> distribution
goes into a `deep freeze', when no changes are made to it except those
-needed for the installation system. This is called a ``test cycle'', and it
-can last up to two weeks. There can be several test cycles, until the
-distribution is prepared for release, as decided by the release manager.
-At the end of the last test cycle, the <em>frozen</em> distribution is
-renamed to <em>stable</em>, overriding the old <em>stable</em> distribution,
-which is removed at that time.
+needed for the installation system. This is called a ``test cycle'',
+and it can last up to two weeks. There can be several test cycles,
+until the distribution is prepared for release, as decided by the
+release manager. At the end of the last test cycle, the
+<em>testing</em> distribution is renamed to <em>stable</em>,
+overriding the old <em>stable</em> distribution, which is removed at
+that time (although it can be found at <tt>&archive-host;</tt>).
<p>
This development cycle is based on the assumption that the
<em>unstable</em> distribution becomes <em>stable</em> after passing a
-period of testing as <em>frozen</em>. Even once a distribution is
-considered stable, a few bugs inevitably remain &mdash that's why the stable
-distribution is updated every now and then. However, these updates are
-tested very carefully and have to be introduced into the archive
-individually to reduce the risk of introducing new bugs. You can find
-proposed additions to <em>stable</em> in the <tt>proposed-updates</tt>
-directory. Those packages in <tt>proposed-updates</tt> that pass
-muster are periodically moved as a batch into the stable distribution
-and the revision level of the stable distribution is incremented
-(e.g., `1.3' becomes `1.3r1', `2.0r2' becomes `2.0r3', and so forth).
+period of being in <em>testing</em>. Even once a distribution is
+considered stable, a few bugs inevitably remain &mdash that's why the
+stable distribution is updated every now and then. However, these
+updates are tested very carefully and have to be introduced into the
+archive individually to reduce the risk of introducing new bugs. You
+can find proposed additions to <em>stable</em> in the
+<tt>proposed-updates</tt> directory. Those packages in
+<tt>proposed-updates</tt> that pass muster are periodically moved as a
+batch into the stable distribution and the revision level of the
+stable distribution is incremented (e.g., `1.3' becomes `1.3r1',
+`2.0r2' becomes `2.0r3', and so forth).
<p>
Note that development under <em>unstable</em> continues during the
``freeze'' period, since the <em>unstable</em> distribution remains in
-place when the <em>testing</em> is moved to <em>frozen</em>.
-Another wrinkle is that when the <em>frozen</em> distribution is
-offically released, the old stable distribution is completely removed
-from the Debian archives (although they do live on at
-<tt>archive-host;</tt>).
- <p>
-In summary, there is always a <em>stable</em>, a <em>testing</em> and an
-<em>unstable</em> distribution available, and a <em>frozen</em> distribution
-shows up for a couple of months from time to time.
-
+place in parallel with <em>testing</em>.
<sect1>Experimental
<p>
`slink'). These names stay the same during the development period and
after the release; symbolic links, which can be changed easily,
indicate the currently released stable distribution. That's why the
-real distribution directories use the <em>code names</em>, while symbolic
-links for <em>stable</em>, <em>testing</em>, <em>unstable</em>, and
-<em>frozen</em> point to the appropriate release directories.
+real distribution directories use the <em>code names</em>, while
+symbolic links for <em>stable</em>, <em>testing</em>, and
+<em>unstable</em> point to the appropriate release directories.
<chapt id="upload">Package uploads
the <file>debian/changelog</file> file, indicates which distribution the
package is intended for.
<p>
-There are four possible values for this field: `stable', `unstable',
-`frozen', and `experimental'. Normally, packages are uploaded into
+There are three possible values for this field: `stable', `unstable',
+and `experimental'. Normally, packages are uploaded into
<em>unstable</em>.
<p>
-These values can be combined, but only a few combinations make sense.
-If Debian has been frozen, and you want to get a bug-fix release into
-<em>frozen</em>, you would set the distribution to `frozen unstable'.
-See <ref id="upload-frozen"> for more information on uploading to
-<em>frozen</em>.
- <p>
You should avoid combining `stable' with others because of potential
problems with library dependencies (for your package and for the package
built by the build daemons for other architecture).
It never makes sense to combine the <em>experimental</em> distribution
with anything else.
+<!--
<sect2 id="upload-frozen">Uploading to <em>frozen</em>
<p>
The Debian freeze is a crucial time for Debian. It is our chance to
original bug fixed and the severity of the bug newly introduced by the
fix.
+ -->
+
<sect2 id="upload-stable">Uploading to <em>stable</em>
<p>
If a package is released with the <tt>Distribution:</tt> set to
`stable', the announcement is sent to &email-debian-changes;. If a
package is released with <tt>Distribution:</tt> set to `unstable',
-`experimental', or `frozen' (when present), the announcement will be
+or `experimental', the announcement will be
posted to &email-debian-devel-changes; instead.
<p>
The <prgn>dupload</prgn> program is clever enough to determine
<sect id="nmu-when">When to do a source NMU
<p>
Guidelines for when to do a source NMU depend on the target
-distribution, i.e., stable, unstable, or frozen. Porters have
+distribution, i.e., stable, unstable, or experimental. Porters have
slightly different rules than non-porters, due to their unique
circumstances (see <ref id="source-nmu-when-porter">).
<p>
cannot be reached in time, a security officer may upload a fixed
package (i.e., do a source NMU).
<p>
-During the release freeze (see <ref id="upload-frozen">), NMUs which
-fix serious or higher severity bugs are encouraged and accepted.
-Even during this window, however, you should endeavor to reach the
-current maintainer of the package; they might be just about to upload
-a fix for the problem. As with any source NMU, the guidelines found
-in <ref id="nmu-guidelines"> need to be followed.
+During the release cycle (see <ref id="sec-dists">), NMUs which fix
+serious or higher severity bugs are encouraged and accepted. Even
+during this window, however, you should endeavor to reach the current
+maintainer of the package; they might be just about to upload a fix
+for the problem. As with any source NMU, the guidelines found in <ref
+id="nmu-guidelines"> need to be followed.
<p>
Bug fixes to unstable by non-maintainers are also acceptable, but only
as a last resort or with permission. Try the following steps first,
we maintain our archive.)
<p>
If the source NMU (non-maintainer upload) fixes some existing bugs,
-the bugs in the Bug Tracking System which are fixed need to be
-<em>notified</em> but not actually <em>closed</em> by the
-non-maintainer. Technically, only the official package maintainer or
-the original bug submitter are allowed to close bugs. However, the
-person making the non-maintainer release must send a short message to
-the relevant bugs explaining that the bugs have been fixed by the NMU.
-Using <email>control@bugs.debian.org</email>, the party doing the NMU
-should also set the severity of the bugs fixed in the NMU to `fixed'.
-This ensures that everyone knows that the bug was fixed in an NMU;
-however the bug is left open until the changes in the NMU are
-incorporated officially into the package by the official package
-maintainer. Also, open a bug with the patches needed to fix the
-problem, or make sure that one of the other (already open) bugs has
-the patches.
- <p>
-The normal maintainer will either apply the patch or employ an
-alternate method of fixing the problem. Sometimes bugs are fixed
-independently upstream, which is another good reason to back out an
-NMU's patch. If the maintainer decides not to apply the NMU's patch
-but to release a new version, the maintainer needs to ensure that the
-new upstream version really fixes each problem that was fixed in the
-non-maintainer release.
+these bugs should be tagged <em>fixed</em> in the Bug Tracking
+System rather than closed. By convention, only the official package
+maintainer or the original bug submitter are allowed to close bugs.
+Fortunately, Debian's archive system recognizes NMUs and thus marks
+the bugs fixed in the NMU appropriately if the person doing the NMU
+has listed all bugs in the changelog with the <tt>Closes:
+bug#<var>nnnnn</var></tt> syntax (see <ref id="upload-bugfix"> for
+more information describing how to close bugs via the changelog).
+Tagging the bugs <em>fixed</em> ensures that everyone knows that the
+bug was fixed in an NMU; however the bug is left open until the
+changes in the NMU are incorporated officially into the package by
+the official package maintainer.
+ <p>
+Also, after doing an NMU, you have to open a new bug and include a
+patch showing all the changes you have made. The normal maintainer
+will either apply the patch or employ an alternate method of fixing
+the problem. Sometimes bugs are fixed independently upstream, which
+is another good reason to back out an NMU's patch. If the maintainer
+decides not to apply the NMU's patch but to release a new version,
+the maintainer needs to ensure that the new upstream version really
+fixes each problem that was fixed in the non-maintainer release.
<p>
In addition, the normal maintainer should <em>always</em> retain the
entry in the changelog file documenting the non-maintainer upload.
the wait cycle for a porter's source NMU is smaller than for a
non-porter, since porters have to cope with a large quantity of
packages.
- <p>
Again, the situation varies depending on the distribution they are
-uploading to. Crucial fixes (i.e., changes need to get a source
+uploading to.
+
+<!--
+FIXME: commented out until I can work out how to upload to testing directly
+
+ Crucial fixes (i.e., changes need to get a source
package to compile for a released-targeted architecture) can be
uploaded with <em>no</em> waiting period for the `frozen' distribution.
+ -->
<p>
However, if you are a porter doing an NMU for `unstable', the above
guidelines for porting should be followed, with two variations.
<tt>bugs.debian.org</tt>. Documentation on available commands can be
found at <url id="&url-bts;">, or, if you have installed the
<package>doc-debian</package> package, you can look at the local files
-<file>/usr/doc/debian/bug-*</file>.
+&file-bts-docs;.
<p>
Some find it useful to get periodic reports on open bugs. You can add
a cron job such as the following if you want to get a weekly email
outlining all the open bugs against your packages:
<example>
# ask for weekly reports of bugs in my packages
-0 17 * * fri echo "index maint <var>maintainer-address</var>" | mail request@bugs.debian.org
+&cron-bug-report;
</example>
-Replace <var>maintainer-address</var> with you official Debian
+Replace <var>address</var> with you official Debian
maintainer address.
<sect id="submit-bug">Submitting Bugs
This chapter describes procedures that existing Debian developers should
follow when it comes to dealing with wannabe developers.
- <sect>Sponsoring packages
+ <sect id="sponsoring">Sponsoring packages
<p>
Sponsoring a package means uploading a package for a maintainer who is not
able to do it on their own, a new maintainer applicant. Sponsoring a package
~ianmdlvl / developers-reference.git / blobdiff